Norwegian Women’s National Team center midfielder Lisa Woods has signed a one-year contract with Fortuna Hjørring of Elitedivisionen in Denmark. In other news, two members of the 2010 United Soccer Leagues W-League regular season champions Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues, Kristen Edmonds and Ashley Thompson, have signed with Stjarnan of Iceland’s top-flight league Úrvalsdeild.
Woods was Norway’s 2010 Toppserien Player of the Year and Norwegian Women’s National Team star, Lisa Woods, has just signed with Fortuna Hjørring of Elitedivisionen (highest level league in Denmark). Fortuna Hjørring was featured in the December issue of Our Game Magazine (Club Spotlight). Woods played college soccer at Oakland University and then at Middle Tennessee State University. She also played for Indiana FC (2009) and the Ottawa Fury (2008) of the USL W-League. She was a mainstay on Norwegian Youth National Teams, before having a breakout season in 2010, where she solidified a starting spot in center mid with Norway, while leading her club team, Stabæk, to the Norwegian Toppserien title. The 26-year-old is known for her tactical smarts, her defensive work rate, her vision/passing, and overall technical skills from her defensive midfield position.
“I am excited that I have signed a one-year contract with a team like Fortuna Hjørring,” Woods said. “They are very professional both on and off the pitch, and is a team I believe I can develop as a player.”
“We’ve just gotten a very good player to the club, Fortuna Hjørring Manager John Robert Larsen said on the team’s website. “Amongst what we are most satisfied with is that we have reversed the flow of top players going to play outside of Denmark, and that we’ve managed to attract such a quality top foreign player to Denmark.”
Edmonds and Thompson to Stjarnan
Both Kristen Edmonds and Ashley Thomspon will play on a Stjarnan team that finished fourth in the 2010 Úrvalsdeild table with nine wins, four losses, and five draws (32 points), three points behind third-place Breiðablik, five points behind second-place Thor/KA, and 13 points back of the Úrvalsdeild champions, Valur. Edmonds played at Rutgers University (2005-2008). The midfielder/forward was on the 2010 preseason roster with Sky Blue FC of Women’s Professional Soccer. Former UCLA keeper Thompson also played last year for Quickstrike Lady Blues.